XXXVI. THE LINDEN TREE. 513 



from which the figure-heads for prows of vessels were carved. 

 It forms a better charcoal than most of the soft woods. The 

 charcoal made from the European lime tree, which ours very much 

 resembles, is said to be preferred even to that of the alder, in 

 the manufacture of gunpowder. In some parts of the country, 

 the bark is separated, by maceration, into fibres, from which a 

 coarse cordage is made. In Russia, mats are manufactured from 

 the inner bark of the European tree, similarly prepared, divided 

 into narrow strips and dried in the shade. These are often im- 

 ported into this country and used for binding packages, and by gar- 

 deners for confining plants, or for tying bundles. In Sweden, the 

 fibres of the bark serve for fishing nets ; in Carniola, they are con- 

 verted into a rude cloth which serves the shepherds for clothing. 



The flowers of the lime tree are remarkable for their agree- 

 able fragrance, which is often perceptible at a considerable dis- 

 tance. They are the favorite resort of bees, which travel some 

 miles through the woods to reach them, by paths which seem 

 to be as well known and as constantly traversed, as the more 

 visible ones on the ground below. Invisible as they are, the 

 travellers upon them are sometimes waylaid by the bee-hunters. 

 The lime forests of Lithuania have a similar attraction for the 

 bees of that country, which extract thence a honey said to be 

 preferred to every other, and to command a three-fold price. 



As an ornamental tree, the lime is to be recommended where 

 the object is to obtain a great mass of foliage and a deep shade. 

 No other native tree surpasses it in the abundance of its foliage. 

 The appearance of the tree in winter shows the reason. The 

 branches divide and sub-divide into very numerous ramifications, 

 on which the spray is small, thick, and set at a large angle. 

 This becomes profusely clothed with leaves, which are large 

 and of a deep green. It also has the advantage of being easily 

 transplanted and of growing readily on almost every kind of 

 soil, though it flourishes best on a rich, rather moist, loam. 

 These qualities adapt it admirably for being used as a screen, 

 or as a shelter to protect more tender trees against the wind. 

 It might, therefore, be planted to supply the place of the native 

 forests, in situations where fruit trees are suffering from being 

 deprived of this protection. Its growth is very rapid, it bears 

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